Railway-car appliance.



PATENTED DEG. 22,1903.

A. J. BRISLIN. RAILWAY GAR APPLIANCE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 20, 1903.

No MODEL.

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wuo/wto e M am a Way/9 UNITED STATES Patented December 22, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

RAILWAY-CAR APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 747,370, dated December 22, 1903. Application filed April 20, 1903. erial No. 153,379. (No model) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW J. BRISLIN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Brooklyn, county of Kings, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway- Oar Appliances, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to improvements in railway-car appliances, and particularly to safety appliances designed for controlling the car under emergency conditions.

My invention consists in the combination, with emergency controlling means for the car, of a flexible connection secured to the operating member thereof and having means for connecting same to the person of an operator upon the car. 7

The object of my invention is to provide for stopping the car should the operator become disabled. In carrying out my invention I preferably secure the flexible connection from the emergency controlling means to a belt worn by the operator, so that should the operator fall tension will be thereby applied to the flexible connection and the emergency means immediately operated. The emergency car-controlling means may conveniently be comprised in a valve designed when operated to admit or exhaust air into the train-pipe of an air-brake system, such as is commonly employed in railway-cars, and thereby to automatically set the brakes. It may also comprise means for shutting off the motive power and for this purpose should the car be propelled by electrical power may include a cut-out switch.

I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawings an appliance embodying my invention, and will then point out the novel features in claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a partial view of an electrical railway-car of the type employed upon the elevated railroads of New York city and showing an appliance embody ing my invention and an operator to whom the said appliance is'connected. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the belt and flexible connection employed. Fig. 3 is a detail View of the emergency controlling means.

A portion of a railway-car is shown in Fig.

1 and is designated by the reference character 1. An operators compartment 2 is provided at the forward end of the car, in which the ordinary electric controller 3 common to electrically-propelled cars is provided. The car is provided with the usual air brake mechanism, of which a branch of the trainpipe is illustrated herein and designated by the reference character 4. An emergencyvalve 5 is arranged in the train-pipe and may conveniently be of the ordinary form of valve known as conductors valve. This valve is provided with an operating-lever 6, to which is connected one end of the flexible connection 7. The flexible connection 7, which is shown more fully in detail in Fig. 2, may conveniently be comprised in a leather strip having means 8 rendering it adjustable as to length andprovided at its lower end with a snap-hook 9. A belt 10 is provided as a suitable means by which the lower end of the flexible connection may be connected to the person of the operator, and in Fig. 1 this belt is shown as encircling the body of the operator therein illustrated. The belt 10 may conveniently be provided with the ring 11, to which the snap-hook 9 may be connected.

In Fig. 3 a cut-out switch 12 is illustrated, having an operating-lever 13 and which may be connected to the operating-lever 6 of the valve 5 by a link 14, so that Whenever the train-pipe valve is operated the cut-out switch will be operated at the same time.

In normal operation of the car the operator will be free to move around in his compartment 2 and 'will be entirely free to operate the usual controller and the ordinary brake-operating means. The flexible connection 7 will in no way hamper his movements and may even be of sufficient length to permit him to sit down. Should the operator, however, faint or fall in a flt or otherwise become incapacitated, he will necessarily fall and in so falling will operate the emergency means, so as to bring about the stopping of the car entirely regardless of the normal operating means.

It will of course be readily understood that I make no special claim to the particular form of emergency operating means herein shown, as obviously any desired means may be employed, the essence of the present invention being the operation of emergency means for stopping the car of whatsoever character by involuntary movements of the operator caused by his becoming incapacitated.

.What I claim is 1. The combination with emergency means for controlling a car, of a flexible connection therefor, and means for connecting same to the person of an operator upon the car.

2. A train-pipe emergency-valve having a flexible connection provided With means for attaching same to the person of an operator.

3. The combination with a train-pipe valve, and a belt adapted to be attached to the person of an operator, of a flexible connection secured at one end to the trainpipe valve, and at the other end to the said belt.

4:. The combination with a train-pipe valve, and a belt adapted to be attached to the person of an operator, of a flexible connection secured at one end of the said train-pipe valve, and at the other end adapted to be removably secured to the said belt.

5. The combination with a train-pipe valve, of a flexible connection therefor, adjustable as to length, and means for connecting same to the person of an operator.

6. The combination with a railway-car, of an emergencycar-controllingdevice,arranged above the level of the normal train-controlling means, and having a flexible connection secured at one end thereto, and adapted to be secured at its opposite end to the person of an operator.

ANDREW J. BRISLIN.

Witnesses:

O. F. CARRINGTON, MINERVA PAPE. 

